Why I Left the Mormon Church by Sally Shively

The reason I am writing this is not to start a religious debate or purposely offend anyone (though that might be unavoidable). Its just that there are a few people, mainly family members, that have no idea why and are shocked and confused. after avoiding the subject for a couple of years i think i owe them an explanation.

It all stared when i found out i was pregnant with Amy. Devin and i had to decided to make a family out of our situation and get married but there was one problem. We were not on the same page religiously. He was raised Christian and I Mormon. When you are Mormon you are banned from reading anything considered to be anti-moron so i had always steered clear and covered my ears and eyes when ever confronted with it. But now i was at a cross roads. i had to do what was best for my child and seek what i now believe is the truth.

i actually started by reading the Doctrine And Covenants. As a Mormon you are taught that the validity of the church is based on the founder and first prophet Joseph Smith so i thought what better way to get to know him than reading the D&C. That is when i came across something that shook me to the core. It was what was written in chapter 132. it is the chapter where he introduces the commandment from god to practice polygamy. It actually says,

"For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory."

and then it goes on to say,

" 62. And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified."

so basically it is a commandment to practice polygamy and if you don't you can't go to heaven. the most upsetting thing actually wasn't this. it was partly the fact that the church no longer practices polygamy even though god had revealed to Joseph smith that it was a new commandment. The church teaches that God's law never changes, so why did god change his mind about this? i continued researching about the history of the church and its leaders. it turns out that Brigham Young had 33 wives! And many of these wives were underage even as young as 14. I had always been taught that these wives were happy so i had to find out what it was like to be a wife in theses plural marriages. i went to the book store and found a book titled The 19th Wife. It sheds light on what it was like for these woman and references back to the journal of Brigham young's 19th wife who was brave enough to share these things. she describes how these men had so many wives that when one would walk down the street their husband wouldn't even recognized them to acknowledge them. these men would collect wives like they were baseball cards. only to sleep with them a few times then toss them aside forgotten and replaced by a younger version. why did they do this? because god commanded them to through Joseph smith. so why did the church abandon this commandment that was so important for our salvation?

church members try to defend these men by saying their husbands died and they needed some one to look out for them but this raises a lot of red flags. for example why were so many men dieing and why was the only way to care for these woman to marry them? why did the prophet send so many men away on missions only to remarry their wives while they are away. I mean if their husband died why not seal them in the temple for the after life much like how they do baptisms for the dead. and why were they marring underage girls. members defend this by saying back then it was different and in biblical times underage girls were married and polygamy was practiced. but the fact is that back then woman had no rights at all and men were not marrying as many as 33 wives. if you believe that we should live how things were back then during biblical times then we should move to the middle east where people are stoned and woman treated like cattle.

I also don't believe the book of mormon is true or was translated from golden plates with a see-er stone. when parts of the book of momron was stolen and destroyed Joseph conveniently received revelation from god that he was to write it a different way instead not from lehi's version but from nephi's. if it was in fact translated then couldn't he translate it again? members say that no 14 year old could have written it but the fact is that it wasn't even written by him when he was 14, it was finished in his 20's and even if it was when he was 14 why couldn't it have been? i also don't believe the book of mormon is true because many christian scholars have discovered that he has plagiarized it from different sources to make it seem to be in sync with the bible in terms of language and speaking style. even the symbols on the garments are taken from masonic symbols because Joseph smith was a mason.

But the problems i have with the church are not limited to the what went on during the founding of it. it is what goes on now and in the recent past. for example like i said god's law never changes. so why did god change his mind about allowing black men to hold the priesthood. black men were not granted the ability to hold the priesthood because of the color of their skin until the 70's during the civil rights movement. i would hate for god to deny some one the ability to baptize their children, perform vital ceremonies and blessings for not only their salvation but their family's because of the color of their skin. and why did they grant them the right specifically during the 70's? they say its because that's when god said black people were finally ready and worthy. but it seems to me and other non members that it was just convenient for them because America was finally realizing how wrong we had been for white people to treat black people the way we unfortunately did so it seems to avoid rightful persecution the church gave them the right to hold the priest hood.

a current problem i have with the church is the fact that they excommunicate people. in the Mormon church your leaders have the power to determine whether or not you are worthy to enter the celestial kingdom in a church court. if you have spoken out against the church or have done any other immoral sin then you can be called to court where they determine whether or not to excommunicate you and take always your temple blessings that allow you to enter the kingdom of god. that power should be given only to god and be between you and him because he is the only one that knows whats in your heart. not your bishop or stake president.

Also god said we can no longer drink wine. so then why did Jesus turn water into wine and drink it when he was on earth? i feel that the Mormon's take on wine is like the Catholics take on sex. yes sex like alcohol can really mess up your life but does that mean we need to take it away entirely to be spiritual like a nun or priest? and if gods law never changes then why did this rule on alcohol suddenly change?

so these are some basic reasons why i do not believe the church is true anymore. The church counsels against reading anti Mormon doctrine because they say it invites the devil into your heart to deceive you. but the fact it that Christians strengthen their testimony by confronting anti christian material head on like the bible encourages you to do. because if it is true then there is nothing to be afraid of. i personally think Mormons are discouraged from reading anything but their own doctrine because to read anti Mormon material simply points out the truth. i am not a heathen and i honestly believe that christ it the one and only way back to him. not a false prophet or by our own works like temple ceremonies or wearing a certain kind of underwear such as garments.

Ephesians 2:8

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God"